Swinging-sector camera shutter with warning indicator

ABSTRACT

A swinging-sector camera shutter having a plurality of sectors. Each sector has a plurality of blades which execute a combined rotary-sliding motion. The shutter has a control lever which, when the shutter is cocked, successively engages the operating cranks of the first slide and the second slide and moves same. The second slide is held, in the initial position, by a pawl subjected to the force of a spring, which latter disengages the pawl and is hingedly connected with its other end to the control lever and is tensioned at the beginning of the operation of the control lever. The shutter has a holding magnet to which voltage is applied at least at the beginning of the operation of the control lever and this magnet holds the pawl in the locking position against the force of the spring until current is cut off by the timer control device. The shutter is provided additionally with a displaceable and pivotable warning lever, one end of which is held, by a pawl, in contact with the magnet by spring or magnetic force, outside of the range of motion of the operating crank of the first rotary slide. This warning lever is pulled into this range of motion by spring force and is shifted, by the operating crank into a viewing aperture when the pawl, during the operation of the control lever, is lifted off the magnet before the operating crank has reached its final position in the released position.

United States Patent [191 Loseries et al.

[ Jan. 29, 1974 SWINGING-SECTOR CAMERA SHUTTER WITH WARNING INDICATOR[75] Inventors: Peter Loserics, Diez, Germany;

Toshio I-layashi, Osaka, Japan [73] Assignees: Minolta Camera Co. Ltd.,Osaka,

Japan; Ernst Leitz GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany [22] Filed: Mar. 30, 1973 [2]]Appl. No.: 346,575

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Apr. ll, 1972 Japan 47/36248 [52][1.8. CI. 95/55 [51] Int. Cl. G03b 9/36 [58] Field of Search 95/55, 59

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,628,438 12/1971 Loseries95/55 Primary ExaminerSamuel S. Matthews Assistant ExaminerMichael L.Gellner Attorney, Agent, or FirmKrafft & Wells; Gilbert L. Wells [5 7]ABSTRACT A swinging-sector camera shutter having a plurality of sectors.Each sector has a plurality of blades which ex ecute a combinedrotary-sliding motion. The shutter has a control lever which, when theshutter is cocked, successively engages the operating cranks of thefirst slide and the second slide and moves same. The second slide isheld, in the initial position, by a pawl subjected to the force of aspring, which latter disengages the pawl and is hingedly connected withits other end to the control lever and is tensioned at the beginning ofthe operation of the control lever. The shutter has a holding magnet towhich voltage is applied at least at the beginning of the operation ofthe control lever and this magnet holds the pawl in the locking positionagainst the force of the spring until current is cut off by the timercontrol device. The shutter is provided additionally with a displaceableand pivotable warning lever, one end of which is held, by a pawl, incontact with the magnet by spring or magnetic force, outside of therange of motion of the operating crank of the first rotary slide. Thiswarning lever is pulled into this range of motion by spring force and isshifted, by the operating crank into a viewing aperture when the pawl,during the operation of the control lever, is lifted off the magnetbefore the operating crank has reached its final position in thereleased position.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEB JAN 2 91974 SHEET 1 [1F 2 PATENTEUJAN 29 m4 SHEET 2 OF 2 SWINGING-SECTOR CAMERA SHUTTER WITH WARNINGINDICATOR CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Applicants claimpriority under 35 U.S.C. 119 for Application Ser. No. Sho4736248, filedApr. 1 l, 1972, in the Patent Office of Japan.

The disclosure of U.S. Application Ser. No. 267,228, filed June 28,1972, is incorporated herein to show the state of the art of actuatingand control mechanisms for swinging-sector camera shutters. In addition,the disclosure of assignees copending Application Ser. No. 346,576,filed on the same date as the present application, of Peter Loseries andToshio Hayashi, and having the title Swinging-Sector Camera Shutterswith Improved Warning Indicator, is incorporated herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The field of the invention is pivoted bladeshutters for photographic cameras. The invention is particularlyconcerned with actuating and control mechanisms for swinging-sectorshutters for photographic cameras wherein the swinging-sectors aredivided into a plurality of blades.

The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 3,628,438 which shows the state of theart of swinging-sector camera shutters is incorporated herein.

In particular, the invention is directed to a cocking and control devicehaving a control lever which, when the shutter is cocked, first seizesand moves the operating crank of the first rotary slide and thereafterthe operating crank of the second rotary slide. The second slide isheld, at the end of the windup step, i.e. in the cocked condition, by apawl, which latter is held in the blocking position, prior to thebeginning of the release of the shutter, by means of a spring and, afterthe beginning of the release of the shutter, by means of a holdingmagnet, according to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 267,228, filedJune 28, 1972.

In such an apparatus, the holding magnet is part of the electronictimer. At the beginning of the shutter release, this magnet is energizedand retains the pawl in engagement with the second rotary slide untilthe electronically computed exposure time has elapsed. Thereafter, themagnet is deenergized and the pawl can release the second rotary slide.If the holding magnet is inoperable for some reason, for example becausethe battery of the electronic timer control device is run down, thesecond rotary slide, during the release of the shutter, is not held bythe pawl but rather runs off practically simultaneously with themanually triggered first rotary slide.

In order to draw the attention of the camera user to such a run-downbattery, it has been suggested by the prior art, in a reflex camera, tostop a drive member of the reflex mirror in its upward movement by meansof an element cooperating with the magnet, so that the half upwardlyflipped position of the mirror draws the users attention to the run-downbattery. Another conventional suggestion provides that in such a casethe operation of the shutter is made possible without shutter openingand simultaneously the film transport lever and the shutter windup leveris blocked against further actuation.

However, both arrangements for warning the camera user have gravedisadvantages. In the former case, the mirror must be manually pressedback into its starting position after the convertible objective has beenremoved, by reaching into the camera opening. In the latter case, thereis the danger that the user operates the block windup lever with toomuch force, thus damaging the mechanism.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, having in mind the limitations ofthe prior art, there is a need for supplementing the cocking and controlmechanisms of swinging-sector shutters of the above-mentioned types by awarning mechanism which, on the one hand, clearly indicates the run downbattery to the user, but, on the other hand, is not suitable for causingdamage to the camera or for increasing the number of setting procedures.

This problem is solved according to the present invention by providingthe control device additionally with a slidable and pivotable warninglever. One end of the warning lever is held by the locking levercontacting the magnet by spring force or magnetic force outside of therange of movement of the drive crank of the first rotary slide. Thewarning lever is pulled, by spring force, into this zone of movement andis shifted by the operating crank into a viewing aperture when thelocking lever, during the operating cycle of the control lever, islifted off the magnet before the operating crank has reached itsterminal position in the run-off condition.

Since, in the case of a fully functional magnet, the locking lever ismaintained in contact with the magnet until the operating crank of thefirst slide has reached its released condition, the warning lever isnormally not actuated in any way by the operating crank. Rather, thewarning lever is held, by the locking lever contacting the magnet, outof the. movement range of the operating crank. However, if the magnetdoes not receive any current shortly prior to the operating cycle of theshutter, for example because the battery is too weak, the locking leveris lifted off the magnet at the beginning of the operating cycle of thecontrol lever. This action is due to the spring connection between thecontrol lever and the locking lever. Thereby, the warning lever is freedfor pivotingeven before the operating crank of the first slide isactuated during which step the warning lever enters, with one end, therange of motion of the operating crank of the first slide and, once thelatter has moved into its rundown position, is shifted into a viewingaperature, The camera operator can see from this that the magnet has notresponded. In most cases, this is an indication that the battery is rundown. However, there is also the possibility that the lack of responseof the magnet is caused by a defective circuit. In any event, theappearance of the signal is an indication for the operator that theshutter has been released without opening. The reason for this will bedescribed in greater detail with reference to the embodiment.

The specific configuration of the warning lever is arbitrary, butnormally a lever will be employed which is supported on a pin fixedlyattached to the base plate by means of a slotted hole and which istiltable about the pin and displaceable on the pin. When a shutterequipped with this warning lever is installed in a camera, the warninglever proper can either be displaceable directly into a viewingaperature, preferably into the viewfinder; or it is also possible toarrange a further lever operated by the warning lever, which furtherlever then appears, in turn, in the viewfinder in a suitable manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is illustrated in thedrawings in one embodiment, to wit:

FIG. 1 shows in an elevational view, a shutter with a cocking andcontrol device in the cocked condition and with the warning lever of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 shows the shutter of FIG. 1 in the released condition, with afunctional magnet;

FIG. 3 shows the shutter of FIG. 1 in the released condition, with aninoperable magnet; and

FIG. 4 shows a circuit diagram of the electronic shutter control withthe arrangement of the magnet in the electronic circuit.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1, numeral 1 denotesthe shutter baseplate having an image aperture la, behind which a firstslide of the shutter, consisting of several blades 2, is visible. Thisis the slide which, in the cocked condition of the shutter, covers theviewing aperture and the blades of which are moved by means of anoperating crank 3, as well as a pin 4 attached to the crank andextending through a circular arc slot 5.

The blades of the second slide, covering the image aperture in thereleased condition, are disposed, collected into a pack, behind theupper portion of the baseplate l in FIG. 1 (as shown in US. Pat. No.3,628,438). They are moved by means of an operating crank 6, as well asa pin 8 attached to this crank and extending through a circular arc slot7. Two helical springs 3a and 6a, seated on the respective crank axles,serve for moving the operating cranks 3 and 6.

In the cocked position of the shutter, the operating crank 3 is held bya pawl 9, while the operating crank 6 is held by a pawl 10.

In order to place the operating cranks 3 and 6, from a position in thereleased condition of the shutter, into their cocked position and lateron for the release of the pawl 9, a control lever 11 is provided whichrepresents the main element of the control device. The control lever 11is fixedly disposed on an axle l2 and is rotatable therewith. Thecontrol lever is also biased by a spring 13 mounted on the axle andtending to urge the control lever to rotate in the clockwise direction,as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The control lever 11 has two arms 11a and 11b, as well as a pin lllcfixedly disposed on its central portion. One of the arms, namely arm11b, engages a pin 6b of the operating crank 6 and, by means of thisengaging connection, presses the crank 6 again into its cocked position,when the shutter is cocked by rotation of the control lever 11 in thecounterclockwise direction. An analogous operative connection existsbetween the arm 11a and the operating crank 3 of the first slide, theonly difference being that, in this case, the pin 1 1a is fixedlyarranged on the arm 11a. The pin 11c of the control lever cooperateswith the pawl 9. Besides, the control lever 11 also has a projecting lug11d behind which, in the cocked condition of the shutter, a pawl 14engages. This pawl is the actual shutter release which must be actuatedwhen the shutter is freed for executing its operating cycle.

The pawl 10 furthermore cooperates with a holding magnet 15 so that thepawl is held, against spring force, in the engagement position while thefirst shutter is in operation. The construction is such that thethrow-off spring force occurs only when the control lever is freed forits operation, since this spring 16 is tensioned in the operatingdirection by the control lever only when the latter rotates in theclockwise direction.

The parts and their functions described heretofore are disclosed in theapparatus according to US. Patent Application Ser. No. 267,228.Additionally thereto, a warning lever 19 is now provided, which ismounted, by means of a slotted hole 190, on a pin 20 fixedly attached tothe baseplate, A spring 23 engages the lower end of the warning lever,tending to pivot the latter in the counterclockwise direction about thepin 20. This pivoting motion is prevented by a pin 18a fixedly seated onan arm 18 of the pawl 10. Thus, the pawl, in a departure from the pawlof Application Ser. No. 267,228, is fashioned herein as a right angledlever. With its lower end, the warning lever 19 extends into the zone ofmotion of the oeprating crank 3 and can be longitudinally shifted alongthe pin 20 by this crank, if desired.

A sighting lever 21 also cooperates with the warning lever 19. Thissighting lever is under the force of a spring 21a which tends to rotatethe lever in the counterclockwise direction, thus keeping the lever inengagement with a pin 24 fixedly mounted at the camera. By means of thewarning lever 19, the sighting lever can, however, be pivoted againstthe spring force in the clockwise direction, wherein the free end ofthis sighting lever enters a viewing aperture 22 and is visible thereinto the operator of the camera.

The mode of operation of the shutter first of all corresponds fully tothat described in Application Ser. No. 267,228.

By releasing the pawl 14, the control lever 11 is released and rotatesin a clockwise direction under the bias of the spring 13 and finallylifts off, with its pin 11c, the pawl 9 of the operating crank 3.Thereupon, the first slide runs through its operating cycle, and theblades 2 vacate the image aperture la.

Simultaneously with the beginning of the operation of the control lever11, the magnet 15 is energized and now retains the pawl 10 against theforce of the spring 16 and releases the pawl only when the electroniccircuit has deenergized the magnet 15. Thereafter, the second slide,driven by the operating crank 6 and the spring 60, can follow the firstslide and again close the image aperture 1a. However, as long as thepawl 10 is still held by the magnet 15, the arm 18 thereof having thepin 18a does not change its position, so that the warning lever 19 isretained by the pin 18a.

When the magnet 15 finally releases the pawl 10 for rotation duringproper operation, the operating crank 3 has reached its releasedcondition. By the rotation of the pawl 10 with arm 18 and pin 18a, thewarning lever 19 is now likewise released for rotation by the spring 23.This merely results in the step that the warning lever 19 engages, withits free end, flatly an edge 3c of the operating crank 3. There is,however, no displacement of the warning lever 19 on the pin 20 as shownin FIG. 2.

However, if the operation does not take place in a proper manner,because the magnet 15 does not receive current for some reason oranother, for example because of a run down battery, then the followingmode of operation results:

The control lever 11 operates as before, after release by the pawl 14.The control lever also triggers the pawl 9, as described above. However,previously, for example with the beginning of the rotation of thecontrol lever, the pawl had already been lifted off via the spring 16;the pawl 10 rotates counterclockwise and releases the warning lever 19by means ofits pin 18a. The warning lever is rotated by spring 23 aboutthe pin 20 and thus enters, with its lower end, the zone of rotation ofthe edge 3c of the operating crank 3. When the control lever 11, withits pin 11c, lifts off the pawl 9 of the operating crank 3, both rotaryslides move together into their released position. During this step, theslotforming edges of both slides cover each other, so that the film isnot exposed. Besides, toward the end of the operating motion, the lowerend of the warning lever 19 is seized by the projection of the edge 3cat the operating crank 3 from below, and the entire warning lever islongitudinally displaced along the pin 20 with its slotted hole. Theupper portion of the warning lever thus impinges on one end of thesighting lever 21 and tilts the latter in the clockwise direction,whereby the opposite end of the sighting lever enters the viewingaperture 22 as shown in FIG. 3. In this manner, it is indicated to theoperator that the timer control device has not functioned, from which itcan be concluded primarily that the battery is run down.

FIG. 4 shows the circuit of the electronic timer control. The magnet isdisposed, in a conventional manner, in the emitter-collector circuit ofa trigger controlled by an RC-member. The circuit has therein a battery30, a cadmium sulfide resistor 31, a resistor 32, a capacitor 33 andfirst and second transistors 34 and 35. The switch 17 initiates thefunctioning of the RC- member when it is opened by the control lever 1 1at the beginning of the shutter operation.

We claim:

1. In a swinging-sector camera shutter having an image aperture andfirst and second swinging sectors, each swinging sector including aprimary blade and a plurality of covering blades and being adapted formovement to and fro across said image aperture, and means cooperatingwith the primary blade of each said swinging sector to provide acombined rotary-sliding motion thereof in which the sliding component ofmotion extends substantially in the direction of the leading edge of theprimary blade, means for actuating and tensioning said first and secondswinging-sectors, means for providing a time delay between the actuationof said first and second swinging-sectors, said means for actuating andtensioning comprising a control lever having first and second controlsurfaces, first latching means latching said lever and second latchingmeans connected to a solenoid magnet, said solenoid magnet con nected tosaid means for a time delay, said means for a time delay having a switchactuated by said first control surface, said first control surfaceconnected to a first operating crank which in turn is connected to saidmeans cooperating with the primary blade of said first swinging-sector,said second control surface connected to a second operating crank whichin turn is connected to said means cooperating with the primary blade ofsaid second swinging-sector, the improvement comprising: a viewingaperture, a warning lever mounted to be displaceable and pivotable,means for spring biasing said warning lever in contact with said secondlatching means outside the range of motion of said first operating crankwhen said second latching means is engaged by said solenoid magnet andfor pulling said warning lever into contact with said first operatingcrank to be shifted into said viewing aperture when said second latchingmeans is disengaged by said solenoid.

2. the swinging-sector camera shutter of claim 1, wherein said warninglever has a slotted hole supported by a pin therein. I

3. the swinging-sector camera shutter of claim 2, wherein a sightinglever is mounted therein having a first end abutting an end of saidwarning lever and a second end extending into said viewing aperture.

4. The swinging-sector camera shutter of claim 1, wherein said viewingaperture is a range finder aperture.

1. In a swinging-sector camera shutter having an image aperture andfirst and second swinging sectors, each swinging sector including aprimary blade and a plurality of covering blades and being adapted formovement to and fro across said image aperture, and means cooperatingwith the primary blade of each said swinging sector to provide acombined rotary-sliding motion thereof in which the sliding component ofmotion extends substantially in the direction of the leading edge of theprimary blade, means for actuating and tensioning said first and secondswinging-sectors, means for providing a time delay between the actuationof said first and second swinging-sectors, said means for actuating andtensioning comprising a control lever having first and second controlsurfaces, first latching means latching said lever and second latchingmeans connected to a solenoid magnet, said solenoid magnet connected tosaid means for a time delay, said means for a time delay having a switchactuated by said first control surface, said first control surfaceconnected to a first operating crank which in turn is connected to saidmeans cooperating with the primary blade of said first swingingsector,said second control surface connected to a second operating crank whichin turn is connected to said means cooperating with the primary blade ofsaid second swingingsector, the improvement comprising: a viewingaperture, a warning lever mounted to be displaceable and pivotable,means for spring biasing said warning lever in contact with said secondlatching means outside the range of motion of said first operating crankwhen said second latching means is engaged by said solenoid magnet andfor pulling said warning lever into contact with said first operatingcrank to be shifted into said viewing aperture when said second latchingmeans is disengaged by said solenoid.
 2. the swinging-sector camerashutter of claim 1, wherein said warning lever has a slotted holesupported by a pin therein.
 3. the swinging-sector camera shutter ofclaim 2, wherein a sighting lever is mounted therein having a first endabutting an end of said warning lever and a second end extending intosaid viewing aperture.
 4. The swinging-sector camera shutter of claim 1,wherein said viewing aperture is a range finder aperture.